Power hammer ram guide



April 18, 1950 J. w. ODONNELL POWER HAMMER RAM GUIDE Filed July 26, 1946m w m m HTTYS.

Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POW'ER HAMMER RAMGUIDE John W. ODonnell, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 26, 1946, Serial No. 686,582

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a power hammer ram guide and more particularlyto, a ram guide construction for a steam forging hammer.

Conventional power hammers include a ram, usually having a die attachedto the lower surface thereof, which is movable vertically between guidecolumns. To guide the ram, solid guide members are positioned along theinner sides of the guide columns, and these guide members have ribsthereon which mate with corresponding ribs on the ram therebymaintaining the ram against transverse movement. In these constructions,and taking a steam actuated forging hammer as an example, the solidguides are. not readily removable because the ram blocks their removaland hence it is not possible to remove the ram from between the guidecolumns without extensive work which usually involves dismantling thecylinder into which the steam actuated piston extends. This piston, ofcourse, is connected to the ram and moves it.

Despite the fact that it is laborious to remove the ram from betweentheguide columns, it is frequently necessary to remove the ram in order todress the die seat and to make other adjustments and repairs. In orderto overcome the disadvantage .of conventional constructions, whereinsolid guide members are provided and the ram can only be removed frombetween the guide columns after extensive dismantling, I provide a ramguide construction which is readily detachable from the guide columnseven when the ram is in position between these columns thereby greatlyfacilitating the task of removing the ram from between these columns. Myinvention contemplates forming each ram guide into parts or sectionswith one section locking another other section in position against theguide column. When the ram is moved to one position, saylowered, thefirst, or looking, section is uncovered, that is, is free fromengagement with the ram, and hence the first section can be unbolted andremoved from "the guide column. When this is accomplished, the ram canbe moved to another position, say raisedto IIIICDVGI or free the other-i section from engagement with the ram, follow ing which the othersection can be unbolted and removed from the guide column. In thismannor the ram can be freed from engagement with the guides to permit itto be removed from between the guide columns. This ls'zin contrast toconventional constructions wherein solid ram guides are provided and itis not possible, innorvrnal movement of the ram, to move theiramout ofengagement with the ram guide to permit the guide to be removed from theguide column. In other words, the-solid ram guides are so long thattheyare always engaged :by the ram even when it is in its extreme upperposition or lowered position oi. normal movement and hence they arealways blocked from movement away from the guide columns by the ram. vItis only by moving the ram, to an abnormal position, as by dismantlingthe steam cylinder, that the solid guides can be removed. Naturally,this is a time consuming operation and, with my construction, the ramcan be removed in a fraction of the time that it now takes.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved power hammer ram guide which is quickly and easily removedfrom the guide columns to permit the ram to be removed from betweenthese columns.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved power hammer ram guide which is seated in a guide column andwhich is formed in "parts or sections, each of which is readilyremovable from the guide columns to permit the ram to be moved frombetween the guide columns.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved power hammer ram guide which is adapted to be seated in a guidecolumn and which is formed in parts, or sections, which are positionedin alignment and in which adjacent sections contact each otherthroughout a non planar area of contact.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved power hammer ram guide which is formed in parts or sections,said parts or sections being readily removable from a guide column, andin which the parts or sections are positioned in alignment with adjacentsections contacting each other through a non-planar area of contact, oneof said sections locking the other against movement outward from theguide column.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a newand improved power hammer ram guide which is formed in sections, saidsections being positioned in alignment, with adjacent sectionscontacting each other throughout a non-planar area, of contact, andwherein each section has a plurality of guide ribs formed thereon, theguide ribs in one section being positioned in alignment with the guideribs an adjacent section.

These and other obiectsand advantages of my invention will becomeapparent from the followram guide formed according to the teaching ofvmy invention.

The embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings is illustrated asbeing used in connection with a steam forging hammer.

is provided which supports a work die I I and upon which is mounted apair of upstanding guide columns I2 and I 3. A ram I4 is movablevertically between guide columns I2 and I3 and a die I5 ;is secured tothe lower surface'of the ram. The ram I4 is moved in response tomovement of a steam-actuated piston I6. To guide the ram I4 for up anddown movement between the guide columns I2 and I3, a pair of ram guidesI! and 18 are provided.

Each of the guide members I! and I8 is seated in a guide column as canbe observed in Figure 2. Thus, the guide member I1 is seated in guidecolumn I2 and the guide member I8 is seated in the guide column I3. Eachguide member is detachably secured to its respective guide column. Toillustrate this, the guide member I7 is detachably secured within therecess or seat I9 of guide column I2 by means such as bolts and 2I.

The tapered spacing blocks 22 and 23 are provided for the purpose ofadjusting the distance between the ram guides I! and I8 in order tomaintain these guides in proper guiding'engage- I ment with the ram I4.

As both of the ram guides I1 and I8 are identical only one, guide II,will be described in detail. This ram guide is shown in isometric viewin Figure 3, where it will be noted that the guide includes two guidesections 24 and 25. When these sections are seated in guide column I2,

guide section 24 is the upper section and is considerably shorter thanguide section 25 which is {the lower section. Guide section 25 has ashoulder surface 26 formed on its upper surface and guide section 24 hasa shoulder surface 2'1 formed on its lower surface. When the two guidesec- .tions are seated in guide column I2, with guide section 24 beingabove guide section 25, the shoulder surfaces 26 and 21 are in contactwith each other. The result is that the two guide sections 24 and 25 arepositioned in alignment, being in continuation of each other, and theshoulder surface 21 looks the lower guide section 25 against movementaway from the guide column I2. I refer to the area of contact betweenthe guide sections 24 and 25, i. e., the area of contact which includesthe shoulder surfaces 26 and 21 and the lower horizontal surfaces 34 and35 on guide section 24 which contact the upper horizontal surfaces, notshown exposed, on guide section 25, as a non-planar area of contact.This is so because the shoulder surfaces cause part of the area ofcontact to be offset with respect to another part i. e. surface 35 isoffset with respect to surface 34. The shoulder surfaces 26 and 21 areof even height so that there is a'continuous area of contact between theguide sections 24 and 25.

A plurality of guide ribs- 28 are formed on the As is con ventional insuch a type of hammer, a base I ll guide section 25 and these guide ribsare in alignment with a plurality of guide ribs 29 which are formed onguide section 24. The guide ribs 28 and 29 are in guiding engagementwith cooperating 'ribs 31 formed on the ram I 4. A similar constructionis provided at the other Side of the ram, i. e., the side that is guidedby guide member I8.

Each guide section is provided with a bolt opening, the rim of which isadapted to be engaged by a bolt head. Thus when the bolt shank is passedthrough the bolt opening and the bolt head engages the guide section,the bolt is tightened at its opposite end and the bolt head will drawthe guide section tightly against its associated spacing "block to holdthe guide section firmly within the guide column. As an illustration,the guide section 24 has a bolt opening 30 therein and the annular rim3| of this bolt opening 30 is engageable by a bolt head, such as thebolt head on bolt 20, to hold guide section 24 securely against spacingblock 22 within the recess or seat portion I9 of guide column I2. Itwill be noted that the bolt opening 30 is closely adjacent to theshoulder surface 21 which is formed on guide section 24. With thispositioning of the bolt opening, when bolt 20 is drawn tight, pressureis applied to guide section 24 closely adjacent to the junction betweenthis section and guide section 25 so that the shoulder surface 2! firmlyand securely holds guide section 25 against movement. Similarly, thebolt member 2| securely holds the lower end of guide section 25 againstmovement, by virtue of the engagement of the bolt head with the annularrim portion 36, so that the effect is to have a two-part guide member asrigid and efl'ective as if it were a one-piece or solid guide member.

Ra-m guide I8 is likewise formed in two parts or sections, like sections24 and 25, and the sections of guide I8 are similarly retained withinthe recess or seat which is formed in guide column I3 by bolts like thebolts 20 and 2 I When it is desired to remove either ram guide from itsseat in a guide column, the upper sec tion of the ram guide is firstremoved. For example, the ram I4 would first be moved down wardly enoughto uncover the upper section, such as section 24. Then the bolt 20 wouldbe loosened and withdrawn, thereby permitting the guide section 24 to bewithdrawn from the seat I9 in guide column I2. After guide section 24has been withdrawn the ram I4 is moved upward enough to uncover section25 following which bolt 2I is loosened and withdrawn thereby permittingguide section 25 to be withdrawn from seat I9. The travel of the ram I4up or down to uncover either of the guide sections is within the normallimits of its travel so that it is not necessary to dismantle theactuating mechanism, such as a steam cylinder and piston arrangement, inorder to move the ram out of engagement with the guides.

Ordinarily, the lower guide section, such as section 25, rests against ashoulder surface, such as 33, which restrains the guide section againstvertical downward movement with respect to the guide column, such asguide column I2. Also when the upper guide section, such as 24, isbolted in position it restrains the lower guide section, such as 25,against vertical movement upward with respect to the guide column, suchas I2.

In the manner just described, guide members I! and I8 can both bereadily removed from their respective guide columns and, when the guidemembers are removed, the ram I4 can be removed from between the guidecolumns for the purpose of replacing the die IE or for other necessaryadjustments or repairs. It will thus be seen that I provide a multiplesection ram guide which is easily removed from its associated guidecolumn to permit the guided ram to be readily removed from between guidecolumns.

In conventional steam hammer constructions, Where solid guide membersare used to guide the ram in its up and down movement, the limits ofnormal travel of the ram do not enable it to clear or uncover the ramguides. Accordingly, it is necessary to move the ram to an abnormalposition, as by dismantling the steam cylinder and piston arrangement,in order to clear the guides and permit them to be removed from theguide columns. This entails additional manhours and expense. In myconstruction, each section of the ram guide can be Lmcovered, and henceremoved, within the normal limits of travel of the ram, therebyeliminating the extra man-hours and expense caused by an extensivedismantling operation. Thus, each ram guide can readily be removed,following which the ram itself can be removed. With my construction Ican accomplish removal of the ram from between the guide columns inapproximately 4 /2 man-hours, as compared to approximately 40 man-hoursfor conventional structures utilizing solid ram guide members. is madein sections, these sections are firmly locked in place, with a shoulderjoint therebetween which makes the whole guide structure rigid and thesubstantial equivalent, from a strength standpoint, of a solid guidestructure.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my inventionI wish it to be understood that I do not intend to be restrictedthereto, but that I intend to cover all modifications thereof whichwould be apparent to one skilled in the art and which come within thespirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a power hammer or the like, an elongated vertically extendingguide for a reciprocal ram comprising a pair of separable verticallyaligned guide members, one of said members having a plurality of guideribs formed in one vertical face thereof and a plane end face having atransverse Furthermore, although my ram guide internal shoulderextending thereacross, and the other of said members having acorresponding plane end face abutting the end face of the one member andhaving a transverse external shoulder extending therebeyond andthereacross into abutment with the internal shoulder of said one member,said other member also having a plurality of guide ribs formed in onevertical face thereof for registry with the ribs of said one member uponassembly, the cooperating shoulders of said members accommodatingseparation of said members upon merely vertical relative movementthereof.

2. In a power hammer, a ram having vertical guide grooves formed onopposing side faces thereof, a supporting post on each side of said ram,and a vertically extending ram guide on each of said posts for guidingreciprocal vertical movement of said ram, said guides each comprisingcomplementary vertically aligned guide members separably secured to oneof said posts, one of said members having a plurality of guide ribsformed in one vertical face thereof and a recessed transverselyextending plane shoulder formed in one end face thereof, and the otherof said members having a projecting transversely extending planeshoulder formed in one end face thereof for mating engagement with therecessed shoulder of said one member upon assembly, said other memberalso having a plurality of guide ribs formed in one vertical facethereof for registry with the ribs of said one member upon assembly,said separable members being individually removable from said posts uponmovement of said ramtherebetween without disassembly of the ram from thehammer.

JOHN W. ODONNELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 585,222 McCool June 29, 1893960,891 Gasche June '7, 1910 1,042,926 Kerchner et al. Oct. 29, 19121,671,516 Derby May 29, 1928

